Uconn

Connecticut coach Paul Pasqualoni gives head linesman Steve Matarante a piece of his mind during the first quarter of an NCAA college football game in Syracuse, N.Y., Friday, Oct. 19, 2012. (AP Photo/Kevin Rivoli)

UConn offensive coordinator George DeLeone has taken a beating from the media and fans of late. Unless the offense suddenly has some sort of emergence, that will continue.

Head coach Paul Pasqualoni doesn't particularly care. He and DeLeone have been co-workers and friends for 25 years, most of their coaching lives, which might influence Pasqualoni's view of DeLeone a bit. Not that it matters.

"What George is doing is running the offense we'd like to establish here, a pro-style offense," Pasqualoni said Tuesday. "It's the style of offense that has been successful here. It's in the DNA at UConn. George is doing a great job of preparing every day for practice, trying to help the team win, coaching the players on the offensive line plus coordinating the offense. He's a tremendously conscientious individual."

DeLeone and the Huskies, however, have not reaped the benefits of that.

UConn is near the bottom of the FBS in terms of total offense. Its rushing offense, the thing that has always carried the Huskies, has been abominable. The Huskies had last week off to try to deal with what ails the offense, particularly the running game.

Pasqualoni said after the loss to Syracuse that it was possible the Huskies would try to concentrate on portions of the running game they do well and then work from there out. On Tuesday during a conference call (Hurricane Sandy canceled any in-person media activities), Pasqualoni backed off on that plan as his team prepares to play South Florida on Saturday night in Tampa.

"It's awfully hard after eight games to just change everything you do," Pasqualoni said. "We've been very close in a lot of these games. It's just been one thing here, one thing there. I just look for greater efficiency and not turning the ball over, not getting behind in games.

"You can't start to make wholesale changes at this point."

One of the many changes UConn fans have been screaming for is a

See UCONN, Page 5C

new coach to run the offense. That certainly won't come this year. Whether a change happens in the future is a determination left to athletic director Warde Manuel after the season when he assesses the direction of the football program.

For now, DeLeone is the guy. Pasqualoni said DeLeone's coordinating the offense and coaching the offensive line is not too much. It's more a matter of execution from the guys in uniform.

"Everything he does is planned and well thought out," Pasqualoni said. "He's working hard in doing what we've discussed and what we want to do here."

No stealing: One of the many issues plaguing the Huskies this year has been turnover margin. UConn has turned the ball over 18 times, a fairly high number through eight games. Exacerbating this is the fact that the Huskies have forced just nine turnovers, producing a turnover margin of minus-9.

Negative turnover margins almost never produce good results. The Huskies simply haven't been able to force opponents into mistakes and have given the ball away far too many times for a team with such offensive issues.

"We haven't been able to create turnovers," linebacker Yawin Smallwood said. "We just have to keep running to the football and keep making plays, and turnovers will come to us."

Weather issues: The Huskies were fortunate to not miss any preparation time because of the weather. They practiced late Sunday night in anticipation of the storm and were off Monday. They resumed their normal practice schedule Tuesday after getting clearance from school officials earlier in the day.

Pasqualoni said he and the coaches spent Monday at their respective homes watching film on their computers. The players were not able to access the Burton Family Football Complex on Monday and took another day to get off their feet and get some rest.

Quarterback Chandler Whitmer said he tried to take the weekend off and watch some college football as a fan, but that didn't work too well.

"I got a headache and couldn't sit around too long," Whitmer said. "I watched some film and got a head start on South Florida."

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